CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Soil temperatures across the state have
been near normal on average so far this winter, according to Jennie Atkins,
Water and Atmospheric Resources Manager at the Illinois State Water Survey,
Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

Soil temperatures at 4 inches under sod averaged 38.6
degrees F across Illinois for the period of November 1 to February 15, normal
for the time period. Temperatures at 8 inches averaged 38.4 degrees F, 1.2
degrees below normal.

While the coolest temperatures have been measured in the
northern portion of the state, the largest differences from long-term averages
have been reported in southern and east-central Illinois with temperatures 2 to
3 degrees below normal for the season so far.

Soil temperatures have fallen with the colder weather the
third week of February with temperatures at 4 inches under sod ranging from
29.9 degrees F in northern Illinois to 33.7 degrees F in the southern section
of the state.

The Illinois State Water Survey at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a division of the Prairie Research Institute, is
the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.